Software Executive and Investor, mostly focused on infra software enabling AI, cloud, data, security, and reliability.
Seattle, WA, USA
- Tweets 15,130
- Following 1,377
- Followers 2,490
- Likes 29,622
Kit Merker retweeted
Robert, you can’t be this daft. How many pensioners in the country make over $1 million a year? Maybe 2 or 3 in the state? You think they’re going after that bag?? OR, and I know this sounds crazy, they’re planning on rolling it out to everybody. Critical thinking is extinct
This is such bullshit. Unless a teacher is making a million dollars a year in pension - and none of them are - they’re not paying the millionaires tax.
The actual millionaires and billionaires are trying to mislead voters into repealing a tax on the rich.
18
14
204
7,058
Kit Merker retweeted
Diane Morgan, writer, actor, and director best known as Philomena Cunk, is bringing the hard-hitting questions to #Assemble26LDN on October 14.
Register here: chainguard.dev/assemble-lond…
4
14
2,415
Kit Merker retweeted
📣 Chainguard is officially a CVE Numbering Authority 📣
Frontier AI models are finding latent bugs in widely used open source software that scanners and years of expert review couldn't detect.
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE®) Program has authorized Chainguard to assign CVEs for vulnerabilities processed through Athena, our coalition to protect open source from AI attacks. That means organizations and open source maintainers can more easily assess their exposure, reduce false positives, and take action on the fixes coming out of Athena.
Learn more: prnewswire.com/news-releases…
4
18
653
Kit Merker retweeted
The marriage penalty isn’t the only disastrous flaw in Washington State’s incoming 9.9% income tax (SB 6346). The legislation is drafted so poorly that it creates an absurd tax cliff—triggering an effective marginal tax rate of over 1,300% on people who realize just a tiny amount of taxable capital gains.
While modeling WA’s 9.9% tax on income over $1M (scheduled for 2028), a bizarre edge case emerged in how the new income tax interacts with Washington’s existing capital gains excise tax.
Here is the breakdown:
The Background
The Existing Capital Gains Tax (RCW 82.87):
0% on the first ~$278k of long-term capital gains (standard deduction, indexed for inflation).
7% on gains above ~$278k up to $1M.
9.9% on gains above $1M.
The Incoming Income Tax (SB 6346):
9.9% on Washington taxable income exceeding $1M (derived from federal AGI).
To prevent double-taxing capital gains, the bill establishes an adjustment mechanism in Section 302:
Sec. 302(1): First, you deduct all long-term capital gains from your federal AGI.
Sec. 302(3): Then, you add back the WA-taxed gain plus the standard deduction (~$278k) to fold capital gains back into your Washington base income.
The Statutory Glitch:
The critical drafting flaw lies in the final sentence of Section 302(3):
"This subsection (3) applies only to taxpayers owing tax under chapter 82.87 RCW for that taxable year."
Because the add-back only triggers if you actually owe capital gains tax, it creates two wildly divergent outcomes for high earners:
Gain under ~$278k: You owe $0 under RCW 82.87. Because you owe no capital gains tax, Sec. 302(3) does not apply. Your capital gains were stripped out in Sec. 302(1) and never added back. Your capital gains completely escape the 9.9% income tax.
Gain $1 over ~$278k: You now owe capital gains tax under RCW 82.87. Suddenly, Sec. 302(3) triggers. The statute forces you to add back the taxable gain plus the entire ~$278k standard deduction. The whole gain is thrown back into your income tax base.
The Math: A $27,600 Penalty for Making $2,000 More
Consider a single filer earning $1.2M in W-2 wages (using the ~$278k deduction threshold):
Scenario A: $277,000 Long-Term Gain
Capital Gains Tax (RCW 82.87): $0 (under the deduction)
Sec. 302(3) Add-Back: Does not apply.
Income Tax Base: $1,200,000 (gains remain fully excluded)
Taxable Income over $1M: $200,000
9.9% WA Income Tax: $19,800
Total WA Tax: $19,800
Scenario B: $279,000 Long-Term Gain (Just $2,000 more)
Capital Gains Tax (RCW 82.87): 7% on $1,000 = $70
Sec. 302(3) Add-Back: Triggers because $70 of tax is owed. The full $279,000 is added back into base income.
Income Tax Base: $1,479,000
Taxable Income over $1M: $479,000
9.9% WA Income Tax: $47,421
Total WA Tax: $47,491
The Takeaway
By realizing an extra $2,000 in capital gains, this taxpayer’s total state tax liability jumps by $27,691 ($70 in capital gains tax + $27,621 in new income tax).
That is an effective marginal tax rate of 1,384% on that $2,000.
This cliff affects anyone whose other income (wages, business income, RSUs) already puts them over $1M—such as dual-income tech households or startup employees experiencing a liquidity event. Crossing the capital gains exemption line by even a single dollar unexpectedly exposes the first ~$278,000 of previously exempt gains to a 9.9% tax penalty.
Whether this was an intentional trap or simply careless drafting, it underscores how poorly structured this legislation really is.
26
78
467
42,865
Kit Merker retweeted
In Spokane, government is making fire victims pay for crackpipes and heroin needles for homeless drug addicts, but they refuse to waive demolition fees for fire victims, forcing them to pay for permits to clear their own burned out properties. Don't let communists run anything.
The city of Spokane is refusing to waive demolition permit fees for fire victims. After losing EVERYTHING, victims have to pay $500 to cap the water and sewer lines under their burned out house. What the fuck is the point of paying taxes? Just like California, Washington uses taxpayer dollars to buy crackpipes and heroin needles for unemployed homeless drug zombies, but when you, the working class taxpayer, lose everything you have through no fault of your own, you still have to pay for this?
These city leaders are so fucking petty they'll still force fire victims to pay $35 for permission to demolish their own destroyed home. Why? You couldn't just waive it? For $35? Yeah, it's not a lot of money, but that actually makes it worse...forcing a fire victim to cough up a meager sum that in NO way actually funds the process in any meaningful way just shows that you are doing it out of spite. Just a nice little "fuck you" to the peasants.
Additionally, the state of Washington is forcing fire victims to pay sales tax to replace the items they lost in the fire. Again...why? The state was never factoring in that revenue...it never existed on the balance sheet BUT for the fire. Government is collecting a windfall from people's LOSSES. There's literally zero need to collect taxes on shit that people already owned.
Back during the mid 90's floods, the state legislature passed a sales tax exemption for victims replacing their stuff. If they don't do this in their next leg session, they all need to go. The one thing WA did is cut property tax on their burned out homes, which is the absolute least they could do.
You assholes never maintain your forests, everybody lost everything, their pets burned alive, and now you're going tack on an extra 9.1% to the cost of rebuilding their lives...for what? Not to mention the fact that a couch today costs probably 2x as much as when they first bought the one they just lost. I fucking hate these people, man.
92
1,818
6,371
116,887
The beauty of capitalism is that even when the financial capital dissipates (bubble bursts) the real world outputs (inventions and infrastructure) become available to new capital!
2
162
It makes sense if the trainer were saying no it’s not x it’s y a lot as correction to inaccurate outputs!
1
14
1,194
